New World: History

The new colonists needed wine for religious reasons (see eucharist), and the planting of the vine was a matter of high priority when the conquistadores invaded south america. Cortés was already arranging to plant vines in mexico by 1522. By 1530, vines were cultivated in both Mexico and japan, and by the 1550s in peru, followed soon after by chile. The New World’s oldest winery in continuous use is Casa Madero at San Lorenzo in north-eastern Mexico, where the first vintage in the Americas was made, from vitis aestivalis, in 1597.